Birth Certificates Now Available for Parents of a Stillborn ChildJessica Holbrook Canton Repository March 31, 2014

Bethany and Derek Stewart of Canton, whose daughter was stillborn, welcome recently passed state legislation that could give some comfort to parents like themselves.

About the New Birth CertificateHB 95 put the Ohio Department of Health’s current practice into permanent law. ODH already issues stillbirth certificates to families. The certificates used to contain the word “stillbirth,” but ODH modified internal policy and changed them to look nearly identical to regular birth certificates without using the word “stillbirth” a few years ago. There are only two differences between a stillbirth certificate and a regular birth certificate:

• Stillbirth certificates contain a footnote indicating that the certificate is not proof of a live birth.

• Stillbirth certificates are not sealed/embossed over the registrar’s signature like regular birth certificates.

Lillian Ember Stewart was born Nov. 23 with 10 fingers, 10 toes and a shock of black hair. She never took a breath, having died in the womb hours earlier. Her parents, Bethany and Derek Stewart of Canton, say that doesn’t mean that Lillian never lived. She was alive for 28 weeks and one day. She’ll always be their firstborn.“People have recognized her death, but they haven’t recognized her life,” Derek Stewart said.“And that hurts,” Bethany Stewart added. Recently passed state legislation could give some comfort to parents like the Stewarts who are grappling with the loss of a stillborn son or daughter.NEW LAWHouse Bill 95, signed into law March 4 by Gov. John Kasich, gives parents the opportunity to obtain a birth certificate for a stillborn child. It gives an option to mothers who would rather look at their particular situation as a birth and treat it as such, rather than as a death, said State Rep. Kirk Schuring, R-Jackson Township, a cosponsor of the bill.When a fetus that has reached at least 20 weeks gestation dies, the death is listed on a fetal death certificate. In the past, parents were given the death certificate but no birth certificate. Schuring said that, for emotional reasons, many parents want one. Starting in 2004, parents could obtain a free commemorative birth certificate following a stillbirth. Until 2012, the document read “certificate of stillbirth.” That’s when the word stillbirth was dropped to be more sensitive and to put an emphasis on life instead of death, said Devon Priddle, customer service manager with the Ohio Office of Vital Statistics. The new certificate is an official one, Schuring said. It’s identical to a birth certificate for a live birth, but with two differences: It has a small footnote that says it’s not proof of a live birth and the registrars’ signature is not embossed, according to an Ohio Department of Health spokeswoman.In other states with similar laws, parents receive a “certificate of birth resulting in stillbirth.” Parents who have received the old certificate now can request the new one, Schuring said.The certificate is optional, he said. “ It’s a personal choice, up to each and every family.” I think many mothers across the state will choose to exercise that option,” he said. The law also requires local registrars to inform parents of the birth certificate option when they issue a fetal death certificate or burial permit.LILLIAN EMBERThe Stewarts, who have been married about four years, found out Bethany was pregnant last June. The couple was thrilled. They’d dreamed of that moment for years, Bethany Stewart said. “We’d always wanted to be a mom and dad. ”Bethany, 35, loved being pregnant and instinctively knew she was carrying a girl. At the 20-week ultrasound, they found out she was right. But the doctor also discovered some complications and elevated it to a high-risk pregnancy. The Stewarts gathered with their church and prayed. They chose the name Lillian that day so they could pray for her by name.At weekly appointments after that, Lillian’s heartbeat was always healthy.“We really held on to our hope and our faith and just went forward,” she said. The hope was to make it to full-term — Lillian was due Feb. 14 — but Bethany went into labor on Nov. 22 at 28 weeks and one day. They didn’t have any bags packed and hadn’t taken Lamaze classes. They went to Mercy Medical Center right after midnight. The hospital tried several times, but they couldn’t find a heartbeat.“She already went to heaven,” Bethany said.“It’s a place that no parent ever wants to be — knowing that you’re birthing a child you don’t get to keep,” Derek Stewart, 31, said. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever experienced in my entire life.”Lillian, who was always the most active in the early morning, was born at 6:10 a.m. “It was holy, it was sacred, it was beautiful,” Bethany Stewart said.11 HOURSThe doctor and nurses at Mercy were incredible, Bethany Stewart said.They got to spend 11 hours holding, kissing and just being with their daughter. Lillian’s grandparents came to hold their grandchild. When a new nurse came on shift, Derek introduced her to his daughter.“ I remember feeling so much pride over her and she’s never done a single thing. She’s never even taken a breath,” Derek Stewart said. Someone’s who never been in that situation might find it unusual, he said, but every second was important. “It’s like you’re trying to wrap up a lifetime in 11 hours,” he said. The hospital sent them home with a memory box of treasures: Imprints of Lillian’s footprints and handprints, a lock of hair, a hospital bracelet.RAISING AWARENESSCoping with their daughter’s death has been heartbreaking, and sometimes the reaction of others has made it more difficult, Derek Stewart said. People are hesitant to use her name. They’ll avoid the topic when talking to the couple. Sometimes it feels like people don’t view them as parents because their child wasn’t born alive. “She made us first-time parents. Once you’re parents, you’re always parents,” Bethany Stewart said.The Stewarts know it’s better than it used to be — in the past, stillbirths were often hushed up and not talked about. But they’re still trying to raise awareness that things need to change.The couple was issued a fetal death certificate, but never offered a birth certificate. Not even a “fake” one, Bethany said. A friend snagged them a certificate from the maternity award. It’s black and white with the hospital name at the top and a disclaimer that it wasn’t a legal birth certificate on the bottom. Bethany Stewart thought it would make her feel better, but it didn’t. She wanted more.“My daughter deserves to be recognized and to be honored and to have that dignity because she was born,” she said. “Just because she didn’t take a breath on this earth doesn’t change the fact that she was born and she deserves it. ”A birth certificate credits and validates Lillian’s life, Derek Stewart said.“ She’ll never get a science fair award. She’ll never get a soccer trophy. Or a diploma for high school or college. Or even a marriage certificate. This is the only award or document she’ll ever get in her lifetime,” Derek Stewart said.“ To deprive a parent who’s already lost their child that honor and that privilege, I really think that’s horrible.”Bethany Stewart began researching. She came across the MISSing Angels Bill movement, which advocated for states to issue real birth certificates to stillborn babies. She saw that Ohio had passed legislation but that Kasich hadn’t signed it, so she began calling and emailing and writing him urging him to do so. She got the family involved, too. Now that Kasich has signed it, the Stewarts say they’ll be first in line when the law goes into effect June 3.